FC Barcelona Flick Chooses Which Defender To Sell
FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick and his staff have decided which of the club's many central defenders it should try and sell this summer according to Mundo Deportivo, which cited anonymous sources.
The German currently has an 'overbooking' of centre backs in his recently domestic treble-winning squad.
For much of 2024/2025, and most likely moving forward, Flick's first choices were Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez.
This was mostly prompted by Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo out being injured, and a lack of a natural right back other than La Masia graduate Hector Fort meant that Jules Kounde played in the position.
Together, Cubarsi and Martinez became one of Europe's best central defensive partnerships, making it difficult for Araujo to find his way into the first XI when he finally returned from the knock picked up in the Copa America during Uruguay's Copa America quarterfinal win against Raphinha's Brazil.
Towards the end of the season, Araujo was criticized for perceived blunders against Inter Milan in a Champions League semi-final second leg defeat at the San Siro, while some thought that Christensen was the steadier option off the bench or when Flick's regulars need a rest if not unavailable.
Moving forward, Barca needs to sell a center back and plans to keep four of them according to Mundo Deportivo.
Counting Kounde as a full back, the three certs are Cubarsi, Martinez and Eric Garcia, with the latter making the list because of his versatility across the backline and as a defensive midfielder.
That means that it comes down to a decision between Araujo and Christensen, and the same paper writes that Flick and his staff have opted for the South American.
Because the Dane arrived at Camp Nou on a free from Chelsea in 2022, Christensen's potential sale is more attractive from a financial perspective because it would present pure profit for the Catalans.
As his contract only runs until June 30, 2026, however, Barca would have to act swiftly in demanding a fee for the 29-year-old.
FC Barcelona might not have a say in Araujo staying
Even though Flick wants Araujo, FC Barcelona might be powerless in having Araujo stay if someone triggers his release clause. For the first 10 days of July, it'll drop to a relatively cheap $74.7 million (€65 million) before increasing again to a usual value past $1 billion.
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